# Ken Costa
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{{Short description|South African banker and philanthropist}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Kenneth "Ken" Costa
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| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1949|10|31|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [South Africa](/source/South_Africa)
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| alma_mater = [University of the Witwatersrand](/source/University_of_the_Witwatersrand)
[Queens' College, Cambridge](/source/Queens'_College%2C_Cambridge)
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| occupation = Banker
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'''Kenneth Johann Costa''', commonly known as '''Ken Costa''', (born 31 October 1949) is a [London](/source/London)-based [South Africa](/source/South_Africa)n banker and Christian philanthropist. He served as the Chairman of [Lazard](/source/Lazard) from 2007 to 2011.
==Early life==
Ken Costa was born in South Africa on 31 October 1949.[[https://document-api-images-prod.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/docs/TquyZNvjaX_ZSJWCHLxj9sBg5bSkxoHo9u5JesIrMMI/application-pdf?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Credential=ASIAJPKKG2FNBFDJQSYQ%2F20180729%2Feu-west-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20180729T151249Z&X-Amz-Expires=60&X-Amz-Security-Token=FQoDYXdzEO%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2FwEaDJfhZ7za1u60HAWXeyK3AxsJnWzf9FSSAgbXUtW%2B%2FFAgTrJGknE2458GybLiegQYIdn8TcEFAZgvhDzzGUIoUDXAuggkab6ciCUU18oAI%2FHHww6XXTP6viM5eP0tOB91mSkvg%2B9dR1lSuXkT9toekU%2B1opDhA3tcsf6muKTuUrDtJvz7LeQQEB6b%2FcXvxtxpPt8AK34rXOMBnnJNj4HTB5%2Fxv5zVY32lhXFpNGlbxz0M0BQ0lPfRDNhh99D%2BfLs0JPyeBrHbi5KqU4XJ8Q4bI%2BhV3vaEbsnFshwrWfQtpon93izSG%2FmbEn9hzvqBj4xYkLG%2FtrT1Bq3kKUvTiWpxpkO8LyuaPHhCrNjm%2FP5iXxLF27mOoj%2BvTCJdQG4wPT4AHjk2uMQ7BKklMpuhyN45NQ%2BCzS1M4W3zGV3Wp07KKl8Y%2FfsaBy7%2FFJHfbTGMJLY0RQBLgYgA%2BHQ6qL0C6TqeRBZfjLpacab2JJ7OGkry%2F1lbRkbevXdpU8olnM1QSpnn%2F9is2fqSUGxOP%2BBdzSfWxzw9Zrybovy%2F3Bq8vgX2cVPtg54Ff%2FBbQIQixtdf62mWYeL6floZVcWOQ%2BvYLp5neFmm5zYBGa0oxIf32gU%3D&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Signature=8eb6d8affd66a94c198f6fc4f87f279b1abe1f7c8a470107f4a50213d4522f76 Companies House, Appointment of director for the Lambeth Trust]][Liam Vaughan, [https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704471904576230303762161070 Ken Costa Quits Lazard], ''[The Wall Street Journal](/source/The_Wall_Street_Journal)'', March 30, 2011] His family were farmers of [Lebanese](/source/Lebanon) descent.[[Michael Skapinker](/source/Michael_Skapinker), [https://www.ft.com/content/f2688a68-cd42-11dc-9b2b-000077b07658 Lunch with the FT: Ken Costa], ''Financial Times'', February 1, 2008] He was educated at a boarding school in [Pretoria](/source/Pretoria).
He graduated from the [University of the Witwatersrand](/source/University_of_the_Witwatersrand), where he received a bachelor's degree in Law and Philosophy in 1972.[[https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=2172980&ticker=LAZ Ken Costa], ''[Bloomberg Business](/source/Bloomberg_Business)''] During that time, he was the President of the students' council and identified as a [marxist](/source/Marxism).[Claer Barrett, Kate Allen and Arash Massoudi, [https://www.ft.com/content/8ab1dadc-8104-11e4-896c-00144feabdc0 Qataris appoint Ken Costa to Songbird Estates board], ''[Financial Times](/source/Financial_Times)'', December 11, 2014] He eventually served as the Chairman of Europe, Middle East and Africa at [UBS](/source/UBS) Investment Bank, retiring in September 2007.[Katherine Griffiths, [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/2815306/Ken-Costa-leaves-UBS-to-join-rival-Lazard.html Ken Costa leaves UBS to join rival Lazard], ''[The Daily Telegraph](/source/The_Daily_Telegraph)'', 07 September 2007]
He served as the Chairman of [Lazard](/source/Lazard) International from 2007 to 2011.[Kasmira Jefford, [http://www.cityam.com/205515/qatari-hires-veteran-banker-ken-costa-board-songbird Qatari hires veteran banker Ken Costa to board of Songbird], ''[City A.M.](/source/City_A.M.)'', 12 December 2014] He was an advisor to [Mohamed Al-Fayed](/source/Mohamed_Al-Fayed) on his 1.5 billion sale of [Harrods](/source/Harrods) to the [Qatar](/source/Qatar)i royal family.[{{Cite web|last=Macfarlane|first=Alec|title=Ex-Goldman bankers scrap emerging markets mega-fund|url=https://www.fnlondon.com/articles/dmc-partners-private-equity-wind-down-fund-fundraising-tpg-goldman-sachs-20140904|access-date=2021-11-14|website=www.fnlondon.com|language=en-GB}}][{{Cite news|last=Ross|first=Alice|date=2019-07-19|title=Ken Costa looks to Saudi Arabia for next big deal|work=Financial Times|url=https://www.ft.com/content/303a3952-9cd7-11e9-b8ce-8b459ed04726|access-date=2021-11-14}}]
In December 2014, he joined the Board of Directors of [Songbird Estates](/source/Songbird_Estates), which owns 70% of [Canary Wharf](/source/Canary_Wharf), replacing [Khalifa Al-Kuwari](/source/Khalifa_Jassim_Al-Kuwari).[Russell Lynch, [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/qatar-appoints-ken-costa-to-songbird-board-as-battle-for-canary-wharf-takes-new-twist-9918014.html Qatar appoints Ken Costa to Songbird board as battle for Canary Wharf takes new twist], ''[The Independent](/source/The_Independent)'', 11 December 2014]
In 2018 he became a Partner and Co-Chairman of Alvarium Investments, a private wealth management business, offering corporate finance deals to ultra-wealthy families.[{{Cite news|last=Ross|first=Alice|date=2018-07-02|title=Ken Costa joins family office aimed at ultra-wealthy|work=Financial Times|url=https://www.ft.com/content/7637afe8-7bbd-11e8-bc55-50daf11b720d|access-date=2021-11-14}}]
Costa dismissed concerns about [Saudi Arabia’s purchase of Newcastle United Football Club](/source/2021_takeover_of_Newcastle_United) as just “noise” created by people jealous of the investment. His comment was criticised by Amnesty International and [Layla Moran](/source/Layla_Moran), foreign affairs spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats, who said “The Saudi Arabian government has one of the worst human rights records in the world: brushing that off as just noise is outrageous.”[{{Cite web|date=2021-11-13|title=Newcastle United takeover fears just 'noise', says UK Saudi envoy|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/nov/13/newcastle-united-takeover-fears-just-noise-says-uk-saudi-envoy|access-date=2021-11-14|website=the Guardian|language=en}}]
He was Professor of Commerce at [Gresham College](/source/Gresham_College)[{{Cite web|url=https://www.gresham.ac.uk/professors-and-speakers/professor-kenneth-costa|title=Professor Kenneth Costa|website=www.gresham.ac.uk|access-date=2017-10-05}}] and he is the dean of [https://leadershipcollegelondon.org/faculty-listings/ken-costa Leadership College London].[{{Cite web|url=https://leadershipcollegelondon.org/ken-pete-blog/2017/8/30/ken-costa-dean|title=Dean Ken Costa|website=www.leadershipcollegelondon.org|access-date=4 December 2017|archive-date=5 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171205194654/https://leadershipcollegelondon.org/ken-pete-blog/2017/8/30/ken-costa-dean|url-status=dead}}]
==Christian philanthropy==
He is the Chairman of Alpha International, which promotes the [Alpha course](/source/Alpha_course).[{{Cite web|url=https://www.htb.org/media/speaker/Ken+Costa|title=Ken Costa {{!}} HTB Church|website=www.htb.org|access-date=2017-10-05|archive-date=15 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150415182141/https://www.htb.org/media/speaker/Ken+Costa|url-status=dead}}] where he was previously a [church warden](/source/church_warden), and also at [New Wine](/source/New_Wine). He is the author of ''God At Work'', a 2007 book about Christianity's relationship to the workplace[Michael J. De La Merced, [https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/03/29/costa-senior-lazard-banker-quits/?_r=0 Ken Costa, Senior Lazard Banker, Quits], ''[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)'', March 29, 2011] and ''Know Your Why'' in 2016, a book about finding and fulfilling your calling.
==Political activity==
Costa donated £50,000 to the Conservative Party in 2010,[{{Cite web|date=2010-05-01|title=Secret Christian donors bankroll Tories|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/may/02/secret-christian-donors-bankroll-tories|access-date=2021-11-14|website=the Guardian|language=en}}] and gave £10,000 to [Jeremy Hunt](/source/Jeremy_Hunt) during the [2019 Conservative Party leadership election](/source/2019_Conservative_Party_(UK)_leadership_election).[{{cite news |last1=Walker |first1=Peter |last2=Walker |first2=Amy |title=Tory leadership donations: who's really backing Boris Johnson |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jul/05/tory-leadership-donations-whos-really-backing-boris-johnson |accessdate=29 May 2020 |work=The Guardian |date=5 July 2019}}] During the [2019 United Kingdom general election](/source/2019_United_Kingdom_general_election), he donated £25,000 to the [Conservative Party](/source/Conservative_Party_(UK)).[{{cite web |title=View donation |url=http://search.electoralcommission.org.uk/English/Donations/C0479218 |website=The Electoral Commission |accessdate=29 May 2020}}]
In 2017, UK Prime Minister Theresa May appointed Costa as the UK government’s special envoy to Saudi Arabia’s [Vision 2030](/source/Saudi_Vision_2030).[{{Cite web|last=Riyadh|first=David Maddox in|date=2017-04-04|title=Saudi Arabia makes Brexit Britain its 'preferred partner' to help reshape its economy|url=https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/787843/Brexit-Britain-Saudi-Arabia-preferred-partner-reshape-economy|access-date=2021-11-14|website=Express.co.uk|language=en}}]
==Personal life==
He has been married for thirty years and is a fan of [Chelsea](/source/Chelsea_F.C.) football club.